Like anything and everything golf, the process of learning how to hit long irons takes time, practice, and patience that can only stem from the player themselves.
Among all of the clubs in a standard golf bag, the 1 through 4 are widely recognized as the most difficult to master. And any golf master, can and will conquer these over time and achieve low scores as their norm. Though in other words, hitting long irons is not an easy task — it is typically a weakness of amateurs.
With that said, here are several tips to help you learn how to hit long irons with confidence and precision. Stay open to returning back to basics when it comes to learning new aspects of golf.
The Key Elements
While there are hundreds of tips and strategies that are designated for improving iron-play, there are four key elements to be strictly incorporated in each shot.
It is good balance, smooth tempo, club head acceleration, and careful targeting. If any of these are lacking or absent, the shot will be less than successful — and that is not our aim.
Let’s tackle these elements through a series of techniques and adjustments.
The Key Goal
If you are a player who is first learning how to hit long irons, you should set your main goal as: strike the ball with crisp and in a clean manner, on the sweet spot of the club face. And here is how you accomplish just that.
1. Everything starts from your setup.
Once you take your address, players should make sure that they have a good, solid stance. As you go through your swing, a slight flex in your knees will help you steady your body. Additionally, your feet should be slightly wider than the width of your shoulders. A rule is, the longer the club, the wider the feet.
2. A key aspect to your swing is bringing your club back smoothly, and continuing the smooth swing throughout.
An emphasis is placed on “throughout,” because it is important to keep it up as you move from the backswing, and all the way to the downswing. It is never better to swing too hard as it rushes the transition which is an important aspect of your swing.
A smooth swing does two things for the player: it helps with maintaining your correct club face alignment, and helps you accelerate the club. This exact acceleration is crucial for gaining distance through a single swing.
3. As you learn how to hit long irons, it is important to incorporate the following.
Once you get to the top of your backswing, you should allow it to unwind from your hips and feet. A common mistake of golfers is completely letting your hands take control of the swing. On the other hand, the act of uncoiling your lower body will automatically generate the necessary power to move the ball down the range.
4. Every aspiring player who has ever attended a golf lesson has received the instructions to keep your head down and still.
It is a common thing to hear as it applies to all golf shots, but especially when you are learning how to hit long irons. But, what does it do exactly?
The mere effort to keep your head down and still will retain a body position that places you centered over the ball, which then increases the chances of a solid hit. For long irons, there is little room for error, maybe even none, and this is an adjustment that must be made.
If your head moves too much or comes up, the club head will most likely bottom out way before it strikes the ball and your shot will be ruined. If you hold it still, the club head will bottom out just ahead the ball for a proper hit.
5. For right-handed golfers, your left arm needs to remain straight throughout your entire swing, and for left-handed, your right arm.
When you bend your forward arm at an angle during the swing, you are changing the distance between the club head and the ball. In order to hit the ball in a clean manner, this has to be brought back. You will not have to worry about multiple, complex adjustments if you keep that forward arm straight.
On the topic of straight, swinging straight down the line will translate into a straight long iron shot.
6. To introduce a common misconception, many golfers who are learning how to hit long irons believe that they have to hit the ground first.
This idea stems from assuming that hitting it first can scoop the ball off the fairway. However, in reality, this is an exact opposite of what you should do, and something to be avoided.
Among all of the tips presented in this piece, hitting the ball first, and the ground second, is the most important takeaway. In other words, golfers should hit make contact with the ball with a descending arc. You should ignore the fact that these clubs have very little loft. Instead, let the club do what it is designed to do, and accomplish your part to make sure that occurs.
7. Our very last tip to those learning how to hit long irons is, a player should make sure that they completed and ended their swing with a follow through.
With a help of visuals, the club should follow a path right to the target as you finish up.
If you aim to hit the ball high, it is your responsibility to finish your swing high.
Conclusion
When you are learning how to hit long irons, use these tips and techniques. Once you put them into play and practice, you will soon notice dramatic improvements with your shots.
Like any skill you attempt to acquire in golf, take it slow. You should target one or two of these tips and turn them into habits. Once you do, move onto the next pair to build you skills efficiently and effectively.
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